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Event Description

Join SoCal Grantmakers for a two-part in-person series that will delve into the nuances and challenges of interpreting nonprofit housing developer audited financial statements. Utilizing real financial statements from an anonymous housing developer, this interactive training will equip attendees with the insights and tools needed to meaningfully use financial information in their practice as grantmakers.

Part 1: Understanding Nonprofit Housing Developer Audits, Tuesday, August 6th, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm 

During our first session we will cover:

  • Definitions of key financial and housing development terms
  • An overview of the full cost framework, including how to incorporate analyses of systemic oppression into financial analysis
  • Understanding the income statement of housing developers
  • Understanding the balance sheet of housing developers
  • How the financial needs and dynamics of a housing nonprofit can inform grantmaking decisions

Part 2: Nonprofit Housing Developer Financial Dynamics, Thursday, August 8th, 9:00 am -12:30 pm 

Building upon what we have learned about full cost and reading financial statements in our previous session, we will look deeper into the unique context of the nonprofit housing development sector to help strengthen and inform our grantmaking in the space. Continuing to utilize the same financial statements of the anonymous housing developer, the session will cover:

  •  Key differences between financial statements of service providers vs. housing developers, and the common financial dynamics for organizations that do both
  • An overview of the housing development cycle, including the types of loans, capital, and risks associated with different stages in the development cycle
  • The pros and cons of project-level due diligence vs. enterprise-level due diligence
  •  How economies of scale impact the risks a developer faces, and how to adjust philanthropic investment (grants or PRIs) for organizations of different scale
  • The limits of audited financial statements and additional information funders should request

This training will be best suited for those:

  • Currently supporting or planning to support organizations engaged in permanent supportive or low-income housing development
  • With a foundational understanding of nonprofit audited financial statements and who are comfortable with navigating and reading through the information they contain. 

Given the rigor of this series, we highly encourage participants who do not regularly review audits in their practice to strengthen their foundational understanding of financial statements by attending our Nonprofit Finance 101: The Building Blocks and Nonprofit Finance 201: Gathering Insights from Audited Financial Statements. Please note that since both sessions in this series will build upon each other, it is imperative that participants commit to attending both in-person sessions. No exceptions will be made. 

Facilitator:

Black and white headshot of a middle aged woman with pale skin and dark hair in a pixie cut. She is smiling broadly looking straight at the camera, wearing a plain dark shirt.

Claire Knowlton SCG Member

Founder & Principal Consultant, Claire Knowlton Consulting LLC

Claire Knowlton is the founder and principal consultant at Claire Knowlton Consulting, LLC, where she provides financial consulting to nonprofits and foundations. Her work focuses on helping her clients align their financial strategy to their organizational values. She previously served as Director of Advisory Services for Nonprofit Finance Fund where she helped lead a national practice of 43 consultants and provided consulting services to hundreds of nonprofits and funders. While there, she designed and led a range of initiatives, including change capital projects for equity-centered arts organizations; long-term efforts to improve government contracting with nonprofits; and the Full Cost Project. She has worked in the nonprofit sector since 2005 in multiple roles, including as the Executive Director of a community-based art center, as an auditor and tax-preparer, and as co-founder and board chair for a nonprofit working to end extreme global poverty.

Presented by:

This series is made possible by the generous support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in partnership with evolve, SCG's suite of programming championing transformational leadership. 

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